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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 20, 2010 10:55:40 GMT -5
I'd done far less riding of late than I cared to admit. Compared to how much activity I'd always partook in Alba, I felt soft here, less active. My body was still trim, though my muscles didn't stand out as much as they had, and though I wouldn't admit it to anyone else, I'd enjoyed my body reflecting how good I felt.
My decision to take Ardor out was an easy one, and I'd decided to take him past the City gates for at least a run along the roads, if the field wasn't in good enough condition for it. Picking through the City streets was a tedious thing though, for myself as well as my stallion, who threw his head up irritably when I didn't keep a firm clamp upon his reins. A pocket of air had opened magically around me, and no one got closer than two paces, something that was likely a good idea to do.
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 20, 2010 11:24:54 GMT -5
I had taken Artemis - Artie for short of course - out for a hunt not long ago, but it seemed that that did not work on sating his appetite for the outdoors, but to stoke it. He had been giving the palace stable lads some tooth, and so I took him out today. It was crisp, and bright, a perfect day for a brisk ride. I wore a long gown of black wool under a cloak that matched, pulling my hood up as I mounted Artemis. My skirts pushed up up bunch over my thighs, showing my bare legs and slippered feet. I still received looks for daring not to ride side saddle, especially with this stallion, and especially with this weather. The stable boy frowned as he returned from the stable too late with a saddle in his hands, only to find me pulling away from the stable, riding bareback.
I found myself wandering the cobbled streets at a slow trot. There were some people about, thouh not as much as I made my way through the Artisan's District. It was funny how mere months ago I had been so lost, but now I knew where I was from the sounds and smells without any problem.
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 21, 2010 11:22:05 GMT -5
My attention was mostly upon my mount and the crowd surrounding us, though I did glance up every now and then to see where everyone else was, what was surrounding and may be coming. Times like this made me detest cities; I craved the openness of Alba, having to worry about animals rather than other people. My brows drew down fiercely, and I had to struggle not to bear my teeth in frustration at the slow movement when I saw a clearing around a woman ahead of me, astride a stallion as well, and from what I could tell without a saddle. The cut and cloth of her cloak was fine, but I couldn't imagine any of the soft d'Angeline women riding like that. Still, I kept my mount away from hers, sure in the irritable state he was in now he'd lash out, and that was a scene that I didn't want to partake in.
Guiding Ardor down an adjacent street, I picked my way through with less heed at the people around me; focusing the studs attention forward made him straighten out more, his muscles less knotted and bunched, his mind becoming more streamlined... and then we broke through from between buildings and into the sun again, and I saw her face. "Faolan." I said it much as I might had upon a battlefield - not shouting, but with enough force to carry my voice across the din of the others.
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 21, 2010 11:37:01 GMT -5
Faolan. And with a start I had turned where I stood, cursing myself for not bringing my bow with me. The one day that i might be accosted by...
"Decimus?" I called back, shielding my eyes from the sunlight as it glanced off of random shiny objects. My frown had turned into a smile as I saw him and turned my mount to face him and his. I chuckled, then, that we had the same idea, and had run into each other.
"The things we go through for our brethren," I called out in Alban as I stroked Artemis' shoulders. He stomped the cobbled ground, as if in protest, then snorted through his nose, expelling a stream of steam. He looked as he always looked, fierce and masculine, and strong, and of course, beautiful. I was not so shy this time upon meeting him, and my cheeks did not colour at the thought.
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 21, 2010 14:43:49 GMT -5
I watched as her eyes swung over to me, critical, but a smile broke across her mouth as she saw me and not whomever it was she apparently thought it was. I grinned at her as she reined her stallion in, using her legs to guide him as much as her hands.
"Aren't you supposed to be in divided skirts?"
I grinned at her, answering in our native tongue as I picked Ardor over. "Where is it that you're headed to today?"
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 22, 2010 9:49:00 GMT -5
I laughed as he teased me. "Oh I do not think these d'Angelines are so stuffy to gape in awe at a bit of bared leg," I grinned. I reached over to pet his mount. I had ridden on him when the other Albans had come to the City. His nose was wet as he nuzzled my hand.
"And I am headed somewhere... anywhere really that has a wide open space. Artemis has been giving every stable hand hell since I went on my hunt. Gave him too much of a good thing and now he wants more," I said wtih a grin. "And where are you headed this lovely morning?"
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 22, 2010 23:05:43 GMT -5
I shook my head, but didn't comment further on it; It wasn't the leg, but the fact that she was a guest at the Palace, a lady of sorts, and... Oh, it didn't matter.
"I was headed for the same actually," I said, smiling to her as I began guiding us through the crowds again. Two stallions together; my horse tensed. I could feel it through the saddle, and I toyed just barely with the reins, keeping his attention focused on what he was doing rather than on the other stud. "It's a beautiful day for it, don't you think?"
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 23, 2010 9:08:46 GMT -5
Artemis was at ease as we moved sslowly through the crowd. he knew he was going to wider spaces soon, and had calmed down.
"Yes, it is perfect," I said with a smile, looking over at Deci. "The fresh air will do us all some good, I think. So," I started, strikig up conversation, "how have you been? I have not seen you since the MidWinter Fete at the palace when you left with a redhead on your arm," I teased him, my eyebrow raising as I did. "I hope you thoroughly enjoyed that evening."
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 24, 2010 10:49:21 GMT -5
Had I been walking, I'd have stumbled when she suddenly brought up Niamh. In my experience, women only brought up other women for two reasons: Jealousy, and a need to know what happened when curiosity ran wild. With men, we didn't tend to care, unless our hearts were at stake.
"I did," I said slowly, guardedly, not sure how to take Faolans outlook on the subject. "And what of you? How did your night end up?"
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 24, 2010 11:45:16 GMT -5
I could not help but giggle, smiling mischieveously. He was guarded, taht was obvious, and it was funny to see him in an uncomfortable position, considering how I felt around him, especially that last time, which wa the first time we had seen each other in Terre d'Ange. I hoped, though, that he knew I was kidding.
"Oh I had a grand evening. I did not end up with a pretty red head," I said with a grin, "but I had a good evening."
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 25, 2010 13:57:18 GMT -5
I bit back a sigh at her response, forcing instead a smile to come to my mouth as I shook my head at her response, trying to make it play out as if I was conceeding to her jest. Jealousy it was, then, though I couldn't imagine why. Faolan hadn't looked at me twice since we met in the Square originally.
"I'm glad you did end up with a good evening," I responded, guiding Ardor through a narrow pass of people. "Was it a dark haired one you ended up with, then?" I looked at her, teasing, hoping to keep the mood light.
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 26, 2010 8:31:52 GMT -5
I parted from him for a moment to pick my way around a crowd, then brought Artemis back to his side. "Oh no," I said with a straight face. "Blonde, and she was lovely." My eyes slid sideways to glance at him and wonder what his reaction would be, forcing my face to stay straight even though I wanted to burst out in laughter.
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 28, 2010 9:53:20 GMT -5
She? I blinked in surprise, glancing to her before looking back again towards the crowd we were navigating through. We were nearing the gates at least; I could catch whiffs of fresh air every now and then, making my stallion more skittish in anticipation. "Well, at least you had a good night. Did you cook her breakfast in the morning too?" I teased, glancing at her again.
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 28, 2010 20:07:03 GMT -5
I giggled at the disbelief in the way he looked at me, and then full out laughed when he mentioned breakfast.
"I shoot with precision, I will even roast a deer, but egg omelettes and sausage?" I asked incredulously with a wide grin, teasing him. "No, besides, that is what an inn is for. Taking her back to the palace would have been far too.... interesting to say the least," I smiled as we sauntered through the crowd, Artemis picking up speed with his driving anticipation. The wind blew my locks, a crisp wind, that turned my hair into a whirlwind of curling flames before they settled over my settled over my shoulders. "HOw about you?" I asked with a wry grin, "are you the breakfast cooking sort?" I almost snorted at the image. Deci, all muscle in breeches, standing over a fire and cooking eggs as though he were a seasoned chef. I giggled, though the thought of him shirtless did make me have to clear my throat in the end.
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jun 29, 2010 11:52:22 GMT -5
"Oh, I don't know about that. These d'Angelines are liberal," I teased as we rode on, the gates appearing around a sweep in the road. Reaching, I patted Ardor upon his neck, though my own excitement to be free was only making his worse. When she turned it around on me and asked about making breakfast, I laughed, taking her face in with a whole-hearted grin. "As a matter of fact, I am," I said, grinning. "My cooking skills are rusty since leaving my time as a soldier behind, but I can still cook a few things."
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jun 29, 2010 18:03:37 GMT -5
I raised my brows at his confession, giving him the once over before bursting into laughter.
"Cooking means not burning to a crisp and cursing all the while," I teased, "but I may just have to ask you to prove that sometime," I teased, though my words held a bit more weight than just coming over for breakfast. I did not think he would notice, though. The last time he had met... it was as though he looked at me as his sister, and not as a woman.
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Jul 18, 2010 23:51:06 GMT -5
Prove it? She wanted me to cook her breakfast sometime? "Alright," I conceded easily, grinning at her as we guided the horses through the City gates. "I rise early though; you'd have to come over before the sunrises. Do you think you could handle that, Faolan?" I asked, looking at her with a wide grin.
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Jul 20, 2010 13:34:25 GMT -5
We exited the gates and I felt a sense of freedom come over me, like a weight lifted and I smield, laughing at his gest.
"Oh I am pretty sure I can handle that," I teased, giving him the once over before I dug my heels into my mount. He did not need much encouraging and he bolted straight forth, leaving Decimus - for now - in our dust. I looked back at him, laughing and smiling, the winter wind turning my locks into a swirling disarray of firey curls.
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Aug 1, 2010 23:14:24 GMT -5
I watched Fao as she left, galloping off without a care in the world. That she had horse sense I didn't doubt, and as such I didn't worry about her as I might have a fragile d'Angeline woman. My mount lurched under me with barely-restrained tension, and with a wicked smile, I gave him the head he was looking for, rolling it in with a double kick to his ribs and a wordless encouragement from my mouth as we raced after Fao.
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Aug 2, 2010 14:42:22 GMT -5
I could feel Artemis' pleasure, his happiness to be free, to gallop at full speed, to not be confined to the cobbled streets of the City. I felt it because it was a feeling I shared with him. I looked back, the smile still on my lips to see that Deci and his mount were quickly approaching. I could see the abandon in the way his horse moved, feeling elated like mine. I laughed, a little wildly, and continued forth, heading towards a slightly wooded area and wondering if Deci's mount was powerful enough to catch up to mine.
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Post by Decimus mab Halcyone on Aug 25, 2010 13:32:46 GMT -5
I kept my mount reined in slightly, letting Fao stay just ahead of us for a few moments. It wasn't for her ego, nor any other reason but so that I could look at her without having to hide it. For a few moments, I saw her as she was; wild hair streaming out behind her, cloak fluttering in the frosty breeze, skirts hiked up to her thighs. She must have been sitting on the front of them to keep them from fluttering back in the breeze all the way to her waist, and not for the first time I was thankful to be a man. One rein in each hand, I held my mount at a steady gate a handful of paces behind her, more than slightly enjoying the wind in my face, rippling my hair back with its movement. Her laughter tinkled back to me, careless and free, and I shook my head amusedly as I finally gave my stallion his head, letting him increase the length of his strides, slowly catching up to her own beast.
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Post by Faolan mab Ceallach on Aug 26, 2010 11:57:50 GMT -5
The wooded area was not that densely populated, which was good, though not as exciting. I could still feel myself letting go of everything, of all the worries of my life, of all the tarries of living in the City that had burdoned me. It was as though I could feel them leaving my body, raising off of my shoulders like an evaporating mist. I could breathe again, and I did, taking large gulps of the fresh, crisp air, feeling my locks whip against my face and neck, my dress skirts fluttering about my thighs. Another laugh bubbled out of me as I looked back again, and saw that Deci was quickly approaching, his mount's muscles rippling as his hooves pounded the ground, sending snow up in a shimmering of iridescent powder. I looked before me and weaved around a tree, slowing slightly as I started to pick my way through the little forest, and slowing for him to meet up with me. The grin on my face never left, as though plastered there. It was not uneasy, but natural, probably one of the most natural smiles I had had since I arrived.
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